16 additional FIFA officials indicted for racketeering conspiracy, corruption
It started with a raid at dawn at the Baur Au Lac hotel in Zurich, Switzerland. By nightfall, more than a dozen FIFA officials were indicted on charges of racketeering conspiracy and corruption, among other offenses.
Another shameful chapter in the story of the corruption scandal engulfing FIFA was written on Thursday, as the U.S. Department of Justice indicted an additional 16 officials pertaining to football's governing body, bringing the total number of individuals and entities charged in the scandal to a surreal 41.
Among those indicted from CONCACAF were:
- Alfredo Hawit, current president of CONCACAF and current FIFA vice-president
- Ariel Alvarado, current member of FIFA's Disciplinary Committee and former president of Panama's soccer federation
- Rafael Callejas, former president of Honduras's soccer federation
- Brayan Jimenez, current president of Guatemala's soccer federation
- Rafael Salguero, former member of FIFA's Executive Committee and former president of Guatemala's soccer federation
- Hector Trujillo, current general secretary of Guatemala's soccer federation
- Reynaldo Vasquez, former president of El Salvador's soccer federation
Among those indicted from CONMEBOL were:
- Juan Angel Napout, current president of CONMEBOL and current FIFA vice-president
- Manuel Burga, former president of Peru's soccer federation
- Carlos Chavez, current treasurer of CONMEBOL, former president of Bolivia's soccer federation
- Luis Chiriboga, current president of Ecuador's soccer federation
- Marco Polo del Nero, current president of Brazil's soccer federation and former member of FIFA's Executive Committee
- Eduardo Deluca, former general secretary of CONMEBOL
- Jose Luis Meiszner, current general secretary of CONMEBOL
- Romer Osuna, former treasurer of CONMEBOL
- Ricardo Teixeira, former president of Brazil's soccer federation and former member of FIFA's Executive Committee
According to The New York Times, the raid on the Baur Au Lac hotel was just one in a series of pre-dawn raids, and was the scene of some arrests. It's the same hotel where other FIFA officials were arrested on corruption charges in May, when the U.S. Department of Justice opened a criminal investigation into the awarding of the 2018 World Cup and the 2022 World Cup.
Related: Swiss authorities conduct new wave of raids targeting FIFA officials
The Federal Office of Justice confirmed that Hawit and Napout were arrested in Zurich on its instructions. Both are opposing extradition.
"The message from this announcement should be clear to every culpable individual who remains in the shadows, hoping to evade our investigation: You will not wait us out," said U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch. "You will not escape our focus."
In addition to Thursday's indictment, guilty pleas were announced for eight defendants who were indicted in May, including Jeffrey Webb and the former presidents of Colombia's and Chile's soccer federations.